Saddam Wins 100 Percent in Referendum

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein won 100 percent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office, official results showed on Wednesday.

Saddam's top deputy Izzat Ibrahim, reading official results at a news conference in Baghdad, said turnout was also 100 percent in Tuesday's referendum.

Nearly 12 million Iraqis were eligible to answer a simple "Yes" or "No" for another seven-year term for Saddam, who has ruled Iraq for 23 years through the tight grip of the military and police.

The authorities had urged voters to turn out in force to show massive support for Saddam in the face of U.S. threats of military action and President Bush's declared desire to remove him from power.

The United States has dismissed the vote and said it lacked any credibility.

From AFP via Babelfish translation -

Iraqi referendum: 100% of "yes" for Saddam, participation of 100%

Wednesday October 16, 2002 - 7h04 GMT

BAGHDAD, Oct. 16 (AFP) - Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was re-elected for seven years at the time of the referendum of Tuesday, with 100% of the voices and a rate of participation of 100%, announced Wednesday the number two of the mode and president of the electoral commission, Ezzat Ibrahim.

"president Saddam Hussein, that God keeps it, gained 100% of the voices", said Mr. Ibrahim, by specifying that the rate of participation was also "100%".

According to him, "on the whole 11.454.638 people said yes to Saddam Hussein".

The Iraqi voters had to answer by yes or by not the question: "Etes you of agreement so that Saddam Hussein does remain president?"

The number two Iraqi had predicted unanimous Tuesday evening one "yes" in Saddam Hussein.

"the people voted unanimously for his leader", had it says. "the participation was absolute and yes was absolute", had ensured Mr. Ibrahim, also vice-president of the Council of command of the revolution, the highest leading authority of the country.

Saddam Hussein was the only candidate for his succession. It carries out a better score than at the time of the preceding referendum, in 1995: it had then been elected with 99,96% of yes.

Well, I was concerned that he might have a repeat problem with the 0.06% of swing voters. Seems he reached them somehow. Now that he's literally 100% legit, I wonder which whack job will be the first to use this vote to bash the U.S.?

Saddam 'wins 100% of vote'

Iraqi officials say President Saddam Hussein has won 100% of the vote in a referendum on whether he should rule for another seven years.

There were 11,445,638 eligible voters - and everyone of them voted for the president, according to Izzat Ibrahim, Vice-Chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council.

Saddam Hussein was the only candidate.

Voters had been urged to show their support for the Iraqi leader in defiance of the demands for military action against him from the US and Britain.

During polling, many voters trampled American flags and some signed their ballot-papers in their own blood in a display of loyalty to their leader.

Before the vote, Washington dismissed the referendum as a farce after the last such vote gave the Iraqi leader 99.96 % of the vote.

"Obviously it's not a very serious day, not a very serious vote and nobody places any credibility on it," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Tuesday.

In London, the Foreign Office painted a stark picture of the "choice" facing the Iraqi voters:

"You can't have free elections when the electorate goes to the polls in the knowledge that they have only one candidate, that candidate routinely murders and tortures opponents of the regime and the penalty for slandering that sole candidate is to have one's tongue cut out."

Undeterred

Tuesday's 12-hour-long voting was technically a secret ballot but few people bothered with the curtained booths - if only because they feared a "no" vote could be traced back to them.

Polling stations were bedecked with posters of Saddam and biscuits and drinks were served as children put on shows of patriotic songs.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley, reporting from Baghdad, notes that despite the festive air during polling, the Iraqi regime is well aware that the Americans are determined not to allow Saddam to serve the new term he is assured.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell met British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the continuing wrangle over a new United Nations resolution on Iraq's alleged remaining weapons of mass destruction.

Washington has threatened to take unilateral action against Saddam if the UN fails to find a solution.

The two ministers said that the weekend car bomb attack in Bali, Indonesia, would not distract them from their campaign against Iraq.

Watching Imus this morning he talked with the NBC correspondent in Baghdad about the "election". After joking about the obvious setup the guy made an interesting observation, he said that he had been in many countries where there were anti-American demonstrations, and the anger was deeply felt. But he said in Baghdad, he didn't get that feeling. I missed his one comment, but it sounded like he had even signed some autographs!

Well there you are, you see. We were wrong all the time! imperative that we go back to the drawing boards and re-evaluate our entire Mid-East policy. Lift the sanctions, strengthen our ties with the French, apologise for existing, come home and all will be well! simple, eh?

Why not even Jimmy "the peacemaker" Carter needed to monitor that "free-election". He could have had assistance from Bonoir and McDermott. The Democrats are working on getting those types of returns, not just in the inner cities.

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